Chapter 28: Summer Event <Elegant Technique> / Behind the Scenes of Tierra in a Yukata

Now then.

My longtime partner, the "Eclipse Black Robe," is just as familiar to me as the twin swords "Funeral" and "Rebirth." Not only does it possess the power to make others mistake my race for "human," it can also freely alter its design to a certain extent.

The fact that its color cannot change from "pitch black" is a drawback, though... Since it is a garment that borrows the concept of an "eclipse"—"even the sun is hidden," "even the sun changes its appearance"—its color cannot be changed.

I might be able to add orange patterns related to the sun, at least to some degree. But if I did that, it would be interpreted as "the sun has not been completely hidden," weakening the misrecognition of my identity.

So, for now, the yukata would be completely black. As for the obi... a pale yet deep blue should do. Was it called lapis lazuli blue? It ought to match the subdued atmosphere of a black yukata.

And now we come to the most important part.

I know enough to understand that with Japanese-style attire such as yukata and kimono, the way one carries oneself is important.

The black robe changed itself into a yukata based on my own image, but ultimately, this was an amateur's work. There was no way it could compete with the swimsuits created by the Conceptual Spirit of Clothing.

If so, I should compete through "how I wear it."

That said.

To begin with, there was no way a modern Japanese male high school student would know how a woman wearing a yukata was supposed to conduct herself.

At the same time, my "I," as a spirit, was hopeless too. There was no way a rough woman who would eat a wild boar raw could manage the calm and refined behavior appropriate for a yukata.

But there was one more element that made up who I was.

Our motherly planet, "Mother Earth," who had accumulated the absurd span of approximately 4.6 billion years.

It's not as though Mother Earth is a professional in Japanese culture or traditional Japanese clothing. She has apparently acquired some degree of knowledge simply from continuously observing the cultures and civilizations that developed across the Earth, but fundamentally, she's still a complete amateur.

However.

What is the essence of behaving properly in Japanese traditional attire?

Detailed manners and strict rules? No. That's not it. They're important, but they're not the essence. Manners, in particular, are nothing more than a manual.

After all, manners and rules were created in the first place because following them was considered beautiful.

Then what was the "beauty" that the kimono sought to achieve?

Why was clothing made in such a way that it restricted movement so much? Most likely because what was sought was a quiet, subdued form of beauty. The Yamato Nadeshiko who took a step back to elevate the men around her, the bird in a cage, the virtuous and modest feminine ideal. Rather than an active, cheerful female warrior who could rival any man, gentle and demure women were preferred.

This isn't about what that means in the modern age, nor is it an argument about gender equality. It simply means that this was how things once were. Japanese society in the past sought women like that, and women themselves tried to approach that ideal of beauty.

And if that was the case—

Mother Earth could perform the perfect "art of wearing it."

Normally, she was completely self-centered and went her own way, but she was never particularly frantic. Her values and actions were a little... eccentric, but fundamentally, she was calm and unshakable.

The only time she really lost her composure was probably around her first contact with Kizuna-kun.

Four and a half billion years of time was no joke. In terms of breadth of experience, there was probably no one who could compare with Mother Earth.

From the perspective of experience:

Planet >>>>> (an insurmountable wall) >>>>> Human > Spirit

Incidentally.

In terms of soul size:

Planet >>>>> (an insurmountable wall) >>>>> Human = Spirit

In terms of combat power (soul output):

Planet >>>>> (an insurmountable wall) >>>>> Spirit > Human

And in terms of housekeeping and everyday living skills:

Human >>>>> (an insurmountable wall) >>>>> Planet = Spirit

In other words, spirits are completely useless.

Please, "Mother Earth." I'll come up with the dialogue, so just handle the role-playing.

Honestly, what an exploitative human, making such unreasonable use of a star.

But I do not dislike it. Quite the opposite. I find it rather endearing.

For a long, long time, I have continued to watch countless lives.

For an eternity stretching back to the days when life first emerged from the sea and began advancing onto the land.

I did nothing particularly special. I could not do anything. I possessed neither a body that I could freely move nor fantastical powers. ...In the terminology of the present day, perhaps that would be called "hands-off parenting." Or perhaps natural disasters would be considered "abuse"?

"I" may not have been a good mother, but there was never any falsehood in the love I held for all of my children.

From plants to animals, and even bacteria. Children of every imaginable form grew in countless different ways.

Among them, the species known as "humans" displayed an especially unusual and fascinating form of growth.

Arms that had once been legs, leaving the ground behind and transforming. Those became wings that allowed them to open up every horizon. Humans raced across towering sacred mountains, carved-out ocean trenches, the vast heavens, enormous caverns beneath the earth, and frozen wastelands where no vegetation grew.

They divided endless time into intervals, gave meaning to numbers, placed feelings into sounds, and gave names to all things. The unknown became the known, mythology became science, imagination became reality. There was no end to their journey.

And now, those hands are attempting to grasp the heavens themselves.

Surpassing the mythical Icarus, they soar into the distant cosmos on wings of science.

Then perhaps... No, without a doubt. They will even bring fantasy itself down into reality.

In the not-too-distant future, they will surely carve out a path to other worlds as well.

"I" find that fascinating. The star watches those tiny beings carrying ambitions far greater than their own stature and advancing toward the distant cosmos, sending them off with roaring laughter.

Even so.

It was also true that I felt a trace of loneliness.

There was no lie in the joy I felt at watching my children grow, but there were still feelings that came with watching them leave my care.

It was around then that one soul was forcibly stolen away into another world.

If a child reached somewhere through their own will and the technology they had accumulated at the end of their growth, that would be fine.

But if they were forcibly taken there by the hands of someone from another world, that was an entirely different matter. There was nowhere on this blue planet that could possibly justify such an outrage.

...Though even if I raged about it, it wasn't as though I could actually do anything.

And then—

A voice calling out to "I" reached me.

A desperate wish, straight and unwavering: to save his younger sister and return home.

Truly, human ideas never cease to amaze me. To take advantage of the system on the Chaos side of the other world and attempt to create a trinity of "Star," "Spirit," and "Human."

Strictly speaking, he is not an existence living upon "I." However, his soul originally lived on the same planet—a mirror image of Earth.

And the way he desperately struggles to return to "Earth" is truly endearing.

Seeing him, "I" decided to lend my strength to the human—Hoshiji Ryuto.

Yes, indeed. That pitiful fellow... Was it "Terra," or something like that? Once that one's ultimate objective is achieved, perhaps I should...

No. That would be getting ahead of myself.

I sense a presence behind me. Hmm. It seems the intended person has arrived.

"Kizuna." The owner of the soul stolen from the blue planet.

"Kizuna..."

Enough! I know, I know! Stop shouting like that! "Kizuna-kun," was it?!

This so-called role-playing is such a nuisance.

"...Is that you? It's a beautiful night."

Wait. Is that really what I am supposed to say? "I" am?

Surely, that...

What? I can freely decide what to have for breakfast tomorrow?

...Hmm. Very well. Then we have a deal.

"Mmm. When a girl wears something different from usual, you're supposed to tell her what you think, you know? Or does it not suit me?"

To think that "I" would ever have to string together words like these...!

The meals at lunch and dinner today were rather heavy, so I want something refreshing.

Yes, I would like some fresh fish sashimi.

What? Too troublesome? Don't give me that nonsense. Don't tell me you've forgotten our earlier agreement!

"Summer is certainly a fun season, but I also think it's a season that makes people carry an indescribable sadness."

Hmm. So that's how it is.

The words coming from my mouth are words that "I, the human" came up with.

As for "I," I have no particular feelings toward "summer," despite having experienced it so many times that counting them would be absurd. Besides, the seasons are reversed between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

"That's the kind of season it is. So, following an old custom, I thought I'd hold a memorial for my... for the dead feelings dwelling within me."

There was, if I recall correctly, a custom called "Urabon-e." Or was it also called "Obon"?

...That custom is a pleasant one. Honoring one's ancestral spirits means becoming conscious of the continuity of life. I also like that one of its origins involves filial devotion toward one's mother.

"Everything is fabricated. Fake. Feelings that have no meaning because they can never come true. Wouldn't it be appropriate to describe such emotions as dead? That's all there is to it."

What an interesting way of putting it.

It is true that everything is fabricated and fake. The body of the Conceptual Spirit "Tierra As" was designed by "Hoshiji Ryuto" and created with the aid of "Terra's" power.

The "thought of someone who cherished Yagawa Kizuna," which served as one of the materials for that creation, was nothing more than a concept. It contained no memories. It was not the actual "feelings of someone who had cherished Yagawa Kizuna."

Being drawn toward "Yagawa Kizuna" is simply the mission she possesses as a spirit. Those feelings are genuine, undeniable fakes.

Therefore, there is no meaning in that fake emotion—so presumptuous as to even call it love—ever being "fulfilled."

On that day, when "Yagawa Kizuna" denied that "mission," the Conceptual Spirit "Tierra As" became something that truly had no reason to exist.

"That's not true."

Oh? You say that isn't true?

Even "I" myself am not the planet "Earth" itself. Even if our memories and feelings are identical, we are distinctly different. I am nothing more than something like a "shadow," and even if "I" were to disappear, "Earth" would remain safe and sound.

"Me-I" and "I" are both genuine fakes.

And you say that isn't true.

"I don't know what happened in your past, Tierra-san. ...Though I suppose it's more accurate to say I don't remember. But there's one thing I can say."

Good. I shall permit it, human.

Let me hear your answer.

"The Tierra-san who's here right now is real. She's not fake."

...Hmm.

"The Tierra-san who's talking to me, the Tierra-san who makes delicious food for us, the Tierra-san who supports everyone... they're all one and the same person standing right here in front of me. To me, and to all of us, the real one is the person who's here. I don't know anything about anyone else."

Heh... Hahahaha!

How utterly absurd!

"...I see. You, of all people, are saying that. ...Thank you, Kizuna-kun."

So! You, of all people, are saying that?!

You, who completely denied those "feelings," are now proclaiming them to be "real."

Words spoken precisely because you do not know the details.

...I suppose I shall have to comfort "my spirit self" afterward.

What a troublesome situation. If it weren't for the plans of "Human Ryuto" and "Terra," and for the feelings of the "Spirit" herself, I would simply kill him and return him to the cycle of reincarnation.

Well, very well. A few years are nothing more than a fleeting instant in a star's perception of time.

I shall indulge in this little amusement a while longer.

A brief dream before the end, that is.